A word that changed my world

It's the confession of a celebrity who enjoys his power and whose life is made easier by default. The joys of celebrity status are sweeter to those whom world paid no attention before. Upant Sharma writes

It's the confession of a celebrity who enjoys his power and whose life is made easier by default. The joys of celebrity status are sweeter to those whom world paid no attention before.

I am a different man now, confident in approach, talk, and gait. Sometimes I don't believe I am the same guy who dreaded police barricades, red tape, and standing in long queues for errands.

It's a proud feeling for mummy and papa, and the relatives to know their son mingles with the paparazzi, sits with the rich and famous, and never has his careening car stopped. All my vehicle documents are renewed automatic. I have lost patience for red light, and I jump it at will and when I smell a reporter lurking nearby for spicy news for his bland snippet column.

Once, the maze of rickshaws, buses, and checkpoints boggled my mind and wouldn't give me a way. Now, courtesy my change of luck, I get green lights all the way. No longer I mix with the hoi polloi to have a glimpse of the Omnipresent. Since the day the backdoors are opened for me, my chemistry with God too has improved and my time with Him is more relaxed.

Interviews, press conferences, inaugurations, world's best cuisine in fancy restaurants are now my routine. What a fine line it is between the two Cs: common herd and celebrity. Some say it is hard work, while others call it my luck or destiny. No matter how you achieve it, star treatment spoils you.

I'm lucky to have that power to turn everything I do into legitimate. Millions cling to my last word. I get answers out of everyone and I am free to ask anyone about anything. When did I arrive? The answer is recorded in my diary: the day a magic word was printed on my identity card: "PRESS".